Mark 12:1-12 NRSVue
1Then he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went away. 2When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. 3But they seized him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. 5Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed. 6He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10Have you not read this scripture:
‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;,
11this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’?”
12When they realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd. So they left him and went away.
“Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.”
Some thoughts on this scripture
Reflection
The tenants rejected the son because they wanted power. They wanted their
group to be the powerful one, or that they themselves would be powerful. This
desire for power would lead to murder. A relationship with Jesus means
handing over a lot to him, and living in his shadow, as he is the light. His
gentleness and compassion, his single-mindedness and commitment are the
cornerstone. What the powerful of the world rejected in Jesus is what is most
essential to him.
Reflection
Jesus and his message can be the cornerstone of our lives - the guiding truth
and love that gives security and conviction to all of life. All love and
goodness is created through him. The way we live and try to live by his
gospel is the Lord's doing also. Life itself and love are gifts of God, the
touchstone of God's continual creation of us all.
Reflection
Jesus reminds us that there are many ways in which the message of God
arrives. We easily develop habits that enable us to dismiss or ignore these
messages. I realise that I need to be more aware of how God is communicating
with me and I ask for help.
Reflection
I carefully review my concerns of these times to see where God may be
approaching me in ways I do not expect to or notice.